Shackles

A very beautiful poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz relevant to the recent arrest-spree carried out by the Pakistani State. I dedicate it to all those who have been sent behind bars:

Shackles on your feet
by

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Translated by Poorvi Vora
Wet eyes and a crazed will are not enough;
Nor are accusations of a furtive love;
Stride in the bazaar today, shackles on your feet.
Stride with arms spread open and in wild abandon;
Stride with dust-covered hair and blood-stained shirt;
Stride, all the beloved city watches the road.
The official and the commoner;
Sad mornings and barren days;
Arrows of slander and stones of insult.
Who but we can be their companion?
Who in the beloved town remains free of guilt?
Who remains worthy of the killer’s hand?
Broken-hearted ones, prepare to leave;
Let us stride to meet our death today.